A Distinguished Performance

It was a musical performance that had a little bit of everything, that's part of a concert series that's just as eclectic.

was packed to full capacity recently for the Town of Oyster Bay’s Distinguished Artist series featuring Naomi Zeitlin.  

 “I have been singing my whole life,” said Zeitlin, who has had many experiences performing onstage. She's performed on stage alone with a guitar, worked with folk groups, and played the lead in theatrical productions. For over 15 years she was on tour with a cabaret group called “Music On Tour.” 

But she's  taken a new direction recently. “I have been on my own for the past six years now,” she said.  

And during her  solo career Zeitlin has performed at libraries all over Long Island, as well as parks and restaurants. She has created a number of different shows featuring a variety of music, giving her audience a different experience each time.  “I’ve done tributes to Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole, Peter Paul and Mary, Broadway of the 60s,” she said. “But today I’m doing Songs of the 70s.”  

It made her a perfect choice to be part of the Town of Oyster Bay's Distinguished Artist Series. The series is designed to showcase a vast array of musical styles and has included chamber  music, country music, Latin American dancing and even Gilbert & Sullivan.

Zeitlin's show contained a mixture of pop, disco, singer-songwriter ballads and Broadway hits throughout the decades.  

Zeitlin, who sang along with karaoke background music, made the audience sing along with her to classic 70s hits such as Carol King’s It’s Too Late, Rainy Days and Mondays by the Carpenters, I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor and Dolly Parton’s country crossover hit Here I Go.  

She also enchanted the audience with astounding renditions of Broadway and movie showstoppers such as Don’t Cry for Me Argentina from Evita, Another Hundred People from Sondheim’s Company, and The Way We Were from Barbra Streisand’s film.  

Zeitlin even broke out her guitar and mesmerized the audience with her rendition of Peter, Paul and Mary’s Wedding Song (There is Love).  

But Zeitlin’s knowledge of the 70s and the songs that she performed provides for an interactive experience.  

"Carly Simon says she wrote that song about four different guys,” Zeitlin said about Simon’s hit You’re So Vain. “All I know is that Warren Beatty called and thanked her after he heard it,” she joked.

 Zeitlin even has loyal followers enthusiastically saying, “I love my groupies!” 

Charlotte Simonis, came all the way from Plainview to see Zeitlin for her sixth time in two months.  

 “She has an excellent voice. She’s very professional and carries her songs well,” Simonis said.  

 Denis Twomey, a fan from Bethpage, appreciates the fact that she changes her show each time.  

“I’ve seen her do songs from the 50s and 60s, so I’m looking forward to hearing her sing from the 70s.”  

 The series continues Sunday, February 20th with a performance by vocalist Rosemary Loar at the Hicksville Public Library.